Olive self-incompatibility and pollination in Syria
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The olive sector is a cornerstone of the Syrian economy, with over 100 million trees covering extensive agricultural lands and contributing significantly to national income and rural livelihoods. Although Olive pollination has a crucial impact on fruit set, but little attention was made regarding this fact in orchard establishment and management. In this paper, efforts were made to collect all works dealing with olive self-incompatibility and pollination in Syria, starting from early works, and covering all aspects regarding self- and cross-incompatibility among indigenous and imported olive cultivars in different areas in the country. A key finding from compiled research is that many prevalent Syrian cultivars, such as 'Zaity' and 'Khoderi', exhibit severe self-incompatibility, leading to substantial yield loss without adequate cross-pollination. The few existing local studies identified compatible pairings for several olive cultivars, but their scope and methodology are still bound and not sufficiently deep. Further research in this area should employ more sophisticated compatibility assessment methods, including the use of paternity testing, and a greater emphasis on anatomical studies and the precise determination of each cultivar's effective pollination period. The inclusion of compatible pollinizers in the orchard is a low-cost practice for integrated orchard management. It should be emphasized in future planning, especially under continuous climate change, which is affecting the resilience and productivity of olives.
Author: Mhanna, Mohammad
Language: English
Topic: Plant Reproductive Biology
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7142820191
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